Vista, Mexican health workers talk about AIDS programs

VISTA -- Sexually-transmitted diseases know no borders, but the
level of care for people suffering from such illnesses is not
always the same on either side of the U.S.-Mexico line.

In order to shrink the quality gap between patient care in the
two nations, health workers from Tijuana and San Diego County met
at the Vista Community Clinic on Wednesday to talk about different
strategies they use dealing with sexually-transmitted diseases,
such as HIV and AIDS.

"Meetings like these are important because health workers can
communicate, share best practice ideas and ask questions," said
Lina Mora, a program assistant with the Border Health Initiative,
which aims to improve access to health care for people on both
sides of the border.

Some 40 doctors, psychologists, nurses and government health
officials from Mexico toured various health centers in San Diego
County, including the clinic in Vista. They listened to
presentations about HIV prevention programs offered by the
clinic.

Officials said the North County clinic's HIV testing program
identifies an average of one person a month who carries the virus.
In all, there are 105 HIV/AIDS patients receiving services through
the clinic.

According to a 2003 report from San Diego County's health
department, about 11,500 people in the county had AIDS, a fatal
disease that develops after a patient contracts HIV. More than half
of those cases are among residents of central San Diego. Nearly
1,400 people in inland and coastal North County had AIDS as of last
year, according to the report.

Of all the individual racial groups noted in the study, white
men constitute the largest number of new HIV cases in North County.
But 52 percent of cases diagnosed in the last five years have been
among people of Latino, black, Asian and American Indian heritage,
the county report said.

The largest number of North County residents with AIDS -- more
than 140 -- live in Oceanside, according to the report. Every other
area of North County has between 9 and 139 cases.

Mora said she didn't know how many people in Tijuana carry HIV
and AIDS, but said they are probably under-reported in Mexico
because of the stigma they carry.

"I know of a doctor who refused to treat an 8-year-old girl who
had contracted it through her mother during child birth because he
was afraid of becoming infected," she said.

Because of the taboos surrounding homosexuality in the Latino
community, Latino gays are not likely to reveal their homosexuality
to their friends and family, health officials said.

"They deny being gay," said Enrique Medal, a program manager at
the Vista Community Clinic. "They don't want their family and
friends to know they have sex with other men. They are homosexual,
but they don't consider themselves homosexual."

Medal said the clinic has about a dozen different programs aimed
at preventing and treating HIV and sexually-transmitted diseases.
Funding for the programs comes from local, state, federal and
private sources.

Some programs help detect HIV-infected people through testing.
Others provide counseling and education to keep them from infecting
others. And some offer treatment assistance, including medicine and
medical care.

Many of the clinic's HIV programs are specifically geared to
Latinos, new immigrants, drug users and other people who don't have
access to much medical care. For many, the clinic is the only place
they go for medical care.

"We are here to serve the populations that have the highest
needs," said Susan Martin, the clinic's HIV programs manager.